Rise in Fees, Taxes, Most Fares Contribute to Slight Increase in Air Sales

Continued rises in fees (airline and non-airline) and taxes, as well as most airfares by U.S.-based travel agents, have contributed to a 0.25 percent rise in the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies for the first seven months of 2013, compared with same period in 2012, the ARC says.

This year, the total amount sold by agencies, including international and domestic fares and all taxes and fees, came to $53.3 billion, versus $53.1 billion in 2012. For the month of July, total sales were up 6.86 percent at $7.1 billion, compared to July 2012 at $6.7.

Total fares (not including taxes and fees) in July accounted for $5.8 billion in sales, a 6.46 percent increase over July 2012. Through July 2013, total sales accounted for $42.77 billion in sales, a decrease of 0.81 percent from the year-ago period.

Of those, domestic fares in July accounted for just under $3.2 billion in sales, a 5.69 percent increase over July 2012. Year to date through July, they accounted for $22.25 billion, a decrease of 2.08 percent from the year-ago period. And international fares in July 2013 accounted for $2.6 billion in sales, a 7.42 percent increase over July 2012. From January through July, international sales accounted for $20.5 billion, a 0.6 percent increase over the same period in 2012.

Total taxes and fees for July 2013 were $1.25 billion, a 7.73 percent increase over July 2012. From January through July, total taxes and fees were $9.78 billion, a 4.36 percent increase over the same period last year.

Of those, airline fees alone accounted for nearly $513.68 million in July, an 11.9 percent increase over July 2012. Through July 2013, airline fees accounted for $4.25 billion, an 8.92 percent increase over the same period in 2012. Taxes and non-airline fees in July accounted for $737.87 million, a 4.95 percent increase over July 2013. Through July, taxes and non-airline fees accounted for $5.52 billion, a 1.1 percent increase over the year-ago period.

Those figures have risen despite the fact that the number of ticket transactions for the first seven months of 2013 decreased 0.96 percent to 87.5 million over the same period in 2012 at 88.4 million. And year-to-date passenger segments decreased 2.1 percent to 215.3 million compared to 219.9 million in the seven months of 2012.

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